Ambulance Community Officers
Ambulance Community Officers (ACOs) are a vital link between AV and the community. As an ACO you can still work an everyday job, but also contribute to your community in a unique way.
Ambulance Community Officers (ACOs) are employed on a casual basis to provide advanced first aid in rural communities where the workload is so low that establishment of an ambulance station with full time staff is not economically feasible.
They are not trained as fully qualified ambulance paramedics, however they have extensive training and skills maintenance that they undertake to be able to provide a support service.
In some communities a single full time paramedic is provided on roster but is supported by ACOs for some cases.
There are over 430 Ambulance Community Officers providing services to rural communities at 30 designated branches.
ACOs undertake an initial 50 hour training program and this is followed by 30 hours of training each year to keep their knowledge and skills current. AV organises several conferences around Victoria each year to maintain ACO networks and ensure maintenance of high level skills.